Thursday, June 20, 2013

Jellio Logo and Frame, Zbrush Model, MakerBot Prints

Last year, I had the opportunity to create a gummy bear model for Jellio, a wonderful company that sells some very groovy things. The model that I created was initially designed to serve as the tool path for a 4 foot tall roboticaly carved gummy bear that was sent to Maaco for a glossy, gold automotive paint job. Thought the model was designed for that lovely prop, it has found it's way into numerous iterations in a variety of scales and applications. I've recently learned that the model will be used once again...for something bigger still. The pleasure of that said news set me dreaming.

The Jellio logo is a little treasure in and of it's self. Every time that I've seen it, I've imagined it inflated, weightlessly hovering as if it were full of helium, just barely touching the ground with the lower apex of J's curly que. It has a playfully timeless air to it much in the same way that the original Coca Cola logo does. The lovely thing about having a 3d printer is that you can have that imagined shape, physically in your hand in very little time. Once the Logo Zbrush model was completed and the mesh was processed into a tool path, the 6 inch by 9 inch prototype was printed in 14 hours 48 minutes. The model was developed and processed for print in a day, the next morning when I woke, my MakerBot greeted me with the prototype. It's was sculpted while I slept.

It was so pleasing to see the Logo in actual space, I had a need to see it re-applied and incorporated into a gummy bear theme. Having seen how well the little gummy bear model had served so many different scales for different products, I knew that what ever I designed within it's theme would work the same way. At first I imagined this as an eight foot tall trade show display but, as the design evolved I realize that it could serve any number applications from free standing picture frames to wall mounted mirror with the base serving as an integrated shelf. Of course round designs naturally lend them selves to clocks and egg timers. How cool would this be as and egg timer with the Jellio logo on its nob, flanked by Gummy Bear salt and pepper shakers. Architecture is where these shapes really get fun. Who doesn't love a beautiful occulous? Is there anyone out there who wouldn't want to live with a giant round window in their space? In building this 6 inch by 7 inch prototype which took 11 hours and 55 minutes, I immediately envisioned it on top of candy columns. I would be quite the grand entrance.